This invention relates to apparatus for the caring for an infant and, more particularly, to a means of setting and adjusting the tilt angle of an infant mattress or bed located within an infant incubator or infant warmer through the use of a mechanism that is adjusted by the user internal of the infant compartment or in close proximity to the infant bed at the level of the infant bed where the infant is positioned.
Infant incubators have a wide variety of ways to vary and set the tilt angle of the infant lying upon a mattress within the apparatus. One such mechanism is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,663 and which is owned by the present assignee and which describes an infant mattress having a tilt mechanism that is accessed by some mechanism located outside the infant incubator itself.
As described in that patent, the use of various tilting mechanisms are valuable in positioning the infant at a range of desired tilt angles and most incubators currently available have some means of adjusting that angle. It is, of course, advantageous that the tilt mechanism be relatively simple to operate, be relatively inexpensive and uncomplicated and be capable of placing the infant in a wide latitude of positions within the incubator infant compartment. Additionally, it is important that the tilt mechanism allow the infant mattress to tilt smoothly and quietly and be damped so that it stops at the desired tilt angle readily and be lockable into that position.
Likewise, infant warmers also have mechanisms to enable the operator to tilt the infant bed to a desired position and one such tilt mechanism is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,628,553 where a hydraulic system allows the bed to be placed at the desired tilt angle and then maintained in that position by simply releasing the mechanism to halt the flow of hydraulic fluid within the system.
In either case, it is of considerable value that the tilt mechanism be able to quickly reach the desired tilt angle and to be firmly retained at that angle with some positive locking arrangement so that the infant mattress is not inadvertently moved during some procedure being carried out on the infant by attending personnel.
One difficulty with present tilt mechanism for infant incubators is, however, that the mechanisms are operated from outside the infant compartment and mattress where the infant is positioned. Although there are desirable features of a system operated external of the infant compartment, there are also advantages to be able to change the tilt angle of the infant by some mechanism that is actually located within the infant compartment in close proximity to the mattress. As an example, with an external mechanism, the attending personnel may be operating on the infant and desire to change the tilt angle and in most cases are wearing protective gloves. Thus, if there is a desire to change the tilt angle, the user is required to remove a gloved hand from the semi sterile environment of the infant compartment to reach the external tilt mechanism, thus affecting the semi sterile condition of that gloved hand for further attending to the infant. Thus, the potential exists for cross contaminating the infant with other outside sources of infection from outside the mattress area and below the bed level.
Accordingly, to return to continue the procedure on the infant requires the personnel to again clean the hand, or gloved hand to continue the work, thus disrupting the procedure on the infant and creating a cumbersome hand cleaning procedure.
Additionally, in the case of an infant warmer, the close proximity of the tilt activation means to the infant allows the user to continue attending to the infant without regloving.